Alliance One Tobacco donates 75 bicycles to farmers

Alliance One Tobacco Malawi Limited has donated 75 bicycles to farmers who have been elected as zone leaders to ease transport problems to ensure effective monitoring of fellow famers in their respective zones.

The farmers are those that are under Alliance One contract farming across the country.

Speaking during the handover ceremony in Lilongwe on Wednesday, Alliance one, Agronomy Services Administrator, Hetherwick Nkhuzenje said the company decided to donate bicycles after learning that zone leaders were facing numerous challenges to reach out to all the farmers under their zones.

Alliance one Agronomy Services Administrator, Nkhuzenje(right) handover the bicycle to one of the farmers

“We believe that the bicycles will help the zone leaders to able to check after fellow farmers but in the past they have been struggling with transport” said Nkhuzenje.

He also said the bicycles will help to curb child labour in tobacco farms by ensuring effective monitoring of those farmers using children in tobacco fields.

“As Alliance one, we believe in promoting of Agriculture best practices in the tobacco industry and one way is by curbing child labour so the zone leaders will be able to monitor all farmers without facing transport problems” he added.

One of the farmers, Ketha Chafukira hailed Alliance One tobacco saying the bicycles will him to monitor over 63 farmers club under his zone.

“We have been struggling with transport when monitoring fellow farmers without many problems “he said.

Through the project Alliance One is expected to spend to procure another 200 bicycles which will also be donated to other zone leaders across the country.